I will repeatedly tell you that icebox cakes are one of the most versatile, easy, and impressive desserts you can make. All you need are thin wafter cookies, some sort of delicious filling, and a springform pan.

The Eton Mess is one of the easiest desserts on the planet, AND it can look totally messy and you don’t have to worry about it, because it’s already in the name and it’ll taste good no matter what! As you can see, I spilled all over my serving tray and everyone managed to survive…

This recipe also kicks off one thing I have always wanted to do – “Cook the Cover” of all of my favorite cookbooks! As you can see above, we are clearly channeling the cover of Ina Garten’s “How Easy Is That?” cookbook. And clearly Ina’s desserts had a little more cream in them than fruit…Oops! But hey, it’s a fun project, and strangely enough, I don’t think I have ‘cooked the cover’ of any of my other cookbooks. I mean, the recipe on the cover of a cookbook HAS to be delicious and foolproof, right?

This cake was a very pleasant surprise. I have my mother, the lovely Lulu, to Thank for this one.

When I was originally skimming through Southern Living I saw this beautiful photo of the cake, but I wasn’t sure what to think. Is that some weird jello mold with fruit? How is it not falling apart everywhere? Weird, I thought, blowing it off and not really paying attention to how easy, simple, and healthy this dessert is overall! No jello whatsoever! Fruit, sugar, booze and ladyfingers, that’s it! A perfect make-ahead summer dessert that’s totally different from your standard strawberry shortcake.

My mom swapped out orange liqueur for Limoncello, and used some frozen berries instead of fresh (the original recipe also calls for cherries, probably a very good way to go but we aren’t quite to cherry season here yet).

She called me and said, “I really want to make that berry cake from Southern Living!” At first I didn’t even know what she was talking about, then I said, “Oh, that weird berry cake mold thing? It looks…difficult.” Nope. Moms are always right. This is worth making again and again. It’s easy, and you don’t even have to feel guilty about having dessert!

Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and place a small plate (approximately the same diameter as the inside of the dish) directly on top. Place 2 or 3 heavy cans on plate, and chill 12 hours. Unmold pudding onto a serving plate.

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